Graduating from the School of Hard Knocks

While we actively pursue and celebrate our successes, the uphill climb is often littered with so-called failures. However, the only real failure is when we fail to learn from our mistakes.


Do you guys remember the rise and fall of Pets.com back in 2001? The super cute sock puppet with an attitude was widely regarded as the poster child for the new economy. And then the bubble burst and the sock puppet became the poster child for the dot.com bust. His poor, road-kill image was even on the cover for a great PR book, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al Ries and daughter Laura Ries.

Turns out there was a very human story happening behind the scenes, as Pets.com CEO Julie Wainwright saw her personal and professional life fall apart. Over the weekend, I stumbled across Julie's essay on the what she learned from and how she moved on from five life-changing mistakes. The essay is posted on her new venture, SmartNow.com, a site geared toward helping women over 30 (sorry guys) "feel good, look good and do good."

Regardless of the target market and demographics, I think the essay has valuable lessons for all of us and encourage everyone to spend some time reading it. And, while I'm not planning any pop quizzes, remember that life (and that pesky school of hard knocks) may test you without warning. Consider this your Cliff Notes to shaking it off and movin' on up.

steph